Alabama News

Four people have died from a flesh-eating bacteria in Florida waters, according to the state’s health department.

Vibrio vulnificus is a bacterium that normally lives in warm, brackish seawater and is found in higher numbers from May to October because of higher water temperatures.

Infections from the bacteria were reported in 11 Florida counties this year, while the deaths occurred in Bay, Broward, Hillsborough and St. John’s counties. Single cases were reported in Bay, Broward, Duval, Escambia, Hillsborough, Lee, Mantatee, Santa Rosa and Walton counties; two cases were reported in St. Johns County.

There have been a total of 89 deaths caused by the bacteria in Florida since 2016. During the same time period, 2024 saw a high of 19 deaths because of the impacts of Hurricane Helene, according to the Florida Department of Health.

Most people can get vibriosis by eating raw or undercooked shellfish, particularly oysters, while others get it after an open wound comes in contact with coastal waters.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 80,000 cases of vibriosis happen each year in the United States, with 52,000 cases resulting from eating contaminated food.

Common signs of an infection include fever, chills, redness, swelling and nausea, according to the CDC.

The Florida Department of Health has advised people with fresh cuts and scrapes not to enter the water. The department also said those who are immunocompromised should wear proper foot protection to prevent cuts and injury caused by rocks and shells on the beach.

At 10:37 a.m. on Sunday, the National Weather Service issued a heat advisory valid for Monday between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. for Marion, Lamar, Fayette, Winston and Walker counties.

The weather service describes, “Heat index values up to 106 degrees expected.”

“Hot temperatures and high humidity may cause heat illnesses,” says the weather service.

Heat safety: A guide to staying safe in high temperatures

• Stay hydrated: Make sure to drink plenty of fluids.
• Seek shelter: Stay indoors in an air-conditioned room to keep cool.
• Avoid sun exposure: Avoid direct sun exposure, protect yourself and check on vulnerable relatives and neighbors.
• Child and pet safety: Exercise vigilance when it comes to young children and pets. Never leave them unattended in vehicles during high temperatures, as car interiors can quickly become dangerously hot.
• Caution outdoors: If you must work or spend time outdoors, take extra precautions.
• Select the ideal time: If possible, move strenuous activities to early morning or evening for more favorable conditions.
• Recognize heat-related issues: Familiarize yourself with warning signs and how tp recognize the symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
• Dress for comfort: Select lightweight and loose-fitting outfits for enhanced comfort.

Additional recommendations for outdoor workers:

• The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recommends frequent rest breaks in shaded or air-conditioned areas for outdoor workers.
• If someone succumbs to the heat, promptly relocate them to a cool, shaded location.
• In emergencies, call 911 for immediate assistance.

These NWS heat safety recommendations are vital for your well-being during periods of high temperatures. Stay informed and take the necessary steps to protect yourself and others from the heat’s potentially dangerous effects.

Advance Local Weather Alerts is a service provided by United Robots, which uses machine learning to compile the latest data from the National Weather Service.

Famed soap opera star Eileen Fulton has died. The longtime “As The World Turns” actress was 91.

According to an obituary from Groce Funeral Home, Fulton debuted as Lisa Miller on the CBS program in 1960. Aside from brief interruptions, Fulton played that role until the show was canceled in 2010, making her one of the longest-running soap opera actors in the U.S.

Fulton’s character was a classic soap opera villain and she told “People” in 1978 she relished the role.

“I’m the classic daytime meanie,” Fulton said. “I’ve had 32 lovers, four husbands, two children and one phantom fetus.”

She was inducted into the Soap Opera Hall of Fame in 1998 and was awarded a Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004. She was nominated for a Daytime Emmy in 1988.

Fulton’s other credits include appearing on Broadway in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf,” and off-Broadway in the long-running musical “The Fantasticks.” In 1997, she co-authored her first autobiography, “How My World Turns,” followed by a second autobiography, “As My World Still Turns,” in 1995. Her obituary notes she also authored a series of mystery novels.

Fulton retired in 2019 and moved back to Black Mountain, N.C. Her funeral services will be held there on Aug. 9.

PARIS (AP) — D-Day veteran ″Papa Jake″ Larson, who survived German gunfire on Normandy’s bluffs in 1944 and then garnered 1.2 million followers on TikTok late in life by sharing stories to commemorate World War II and his fallen comrades, has died at 102.

An animated speaker who charmed strangers young and old with his quick smile and generous hugs, the self-described country boy from Minnesota was ‘’cracking jokes til the end,’’ his granddaughter wrote in announcing his death.

Tributes to him quickly filled his “Story Time with Papa Jake” TikTok account from across the United States, where he had been living in Lafayette, California. Towns around Normandy, still grateful to Allied forces who helped defeat the occupying Nazis in World War II, paid him homage too.

“Our beloved Papa Jake has passed away on July 17th at 102 years young,” granddaughter McKaela Larson posted on his social media accounts. “He went peacefully.”

“As Papa would say, love you all the mostest,” she wrote.

Born Dec. 20, 1922, in Owatonna, Minnesota, Larson enlisted in the National Guard in 1938, lying about his age since he was only 15 at the time. In 1942, he was sent overseas and was stationed in Northern Ireland. He became operations sergeant and assembled the planning books for the invasion of Normandy.

He was among the nearly 160,000 Allied troops who stormed the Normandy shore on D-Day, June 6, 1944, surviving machine-gun fire when he landed on Omaha Beach. He made it unhurt to the bluffs that overlook the beach, then studded with German gun emplacements that mowed down American soldiers.

“We are the lucky ones,” Larson told The Associated Press at the 81st anniversary of D-Day in June, speaking amid the immaculate rows of graves at the American cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach.

“We are their family. We have the responsibility to honor these guys who gave us a chance to be alive.”

He went on to fight through the Battle of the Bulge, a grueling month-long fight in Belgium and Luxembourg that was one of the defining moments of the war and of Hitler’s defeat. His service earned him a Bronze Star and a French Legion of Honor award.

In recent years, Larson made repeated trips to Normandy for D-Day commemorations — and at every stop, “Papa Jake” was greeted by people asking for a selfie. In return, he offered up a big hug, to their greatest joy.

One memorable encounter came in 2023, when he came across Bill Gladden, a then-99-year-old British veteran who survived a glider landing on D-Day and a bullet that tore through his ankle.

“I want to give you a hug, thank you. I got tears in my eyes. We were meant to meet,” Larson told Gladden, as their hands, lined and spotted with age, clasped tightly. Gladden died the following year.

In his TikTok posts and interviews, Larson combined humorous anecdotes with somber reminders about the horrors of war.

Reflecting to AP on the three years he was in Europe, Larson said he is “no hero.” Speaking in 2024, he also had a message to world leaders: “Make peace not war.”

He often called himself “the luckiest man in the world,” and expressed awe at all the attention he was getting. “I’m just a country boy. Now I’m a star on TikTok,” he told AP in 2023. “I’m a legend! I didn’t plan this, it came about.”

Small-town museums and groups around Normandy that work to honor D-Day’s heroes and fallen shared tributes online to Larson, one of their most loyal visitors.

“He was an exceptional witness and bearer of memory,” the Overlord Museum posted on Facebook.

“He came every year to the museum, with his smile, his humility and his tales that touched all generations. His stories will continue to live. Rest in peace Papa Jake,” it read.

“Thanks for everything.”

Target is ending a long-standing practice that some customers relied on to save money.

The retailer announced it will no longer match prices for products customers purchase from places like Walmart and Amazon. The change goes into effect July 28, Retail Dive reported.

In a statement to the retail news website, Target said shoppers “overwhelmingly price match Target and not other retailers.”

READ MORE: Target’s generous offer is a bid to win back customers

“We’re always working to deliver consumers outstanding value and give them confidence to choose Target, with our everyday low prices, affordable and quality-focused owned brands, incredible deals, free-to-join membership program, Target Circle, and more,” the spokesperson said.

Target’s current price match policy covers shoppers who buy a qualifying item at the retailer and then find the identical item on sale for less at Walmart, Amazon, Target.com or through a Target Circle deal. Price matches must be requested at the time of purchase or within 14 days, the policy noted, and excludes items sold through a third-party vendor on one of the competing company’s websites.

Price matching is only allowed for identical items with the same brand name, size, weight, color, quantity and model number.

The change puts Target more in line with Walmart and Amazon, Retail Dive reported. Walmart ended, its price-matching service in 2019 and Amazon does not offer price matching at all.

The Atlanta Braves play against the New York Yankees in an MLB game today. The matchup is scheduled to begin at 12:35 p.m. CT on FanDuel Sports Network South/FanDuel Sports Network Southeast. Fans can watch this game for free online by using the free trials offered by DirecTV and Fubo TV.

The Braves have struggled this season, as they entered the All-Star Break with a subpar 42-53 record.

In order to turn things around this afternoon, the Braves will need to rely on their star player Matt Olson. He currently leads the Atlanta offense in home runs and RBI, so he will try to continue his offensive success today.

The Yankees have performed at a high level this season, as they sit near the top of the American League East standings. Notably, the New York squad has one of the top-scoring offenses in the MLB this season.

In order to win the game today, the Yankees will need a great performance from their star player Aaron Judge. He currently leads the New York offense in batting average, home runs, and RBI.

Fans can watch this MLB game for free online by using the free trials offered by DirecTV and Fubo TV.

The summer heat will be on in full force this week across Alabama.

The National Weather Service expects a ridge of high pressure to send the mercury climbing well into the 90s most days, and humidity levels are expected to remain on the high side, which is typical in July in Alabama.

A heat advisory will be in effect today for coastal Alabama’s Mobile and Baldwin counties:

The heat index, or “feels like” temperature, could climb as high as 108 degrees in those areas today.

Heat advisories will be likely this week for more of Alabama as the temperature is expected to climb.

Sunday’s highs are expected to top out in the low to mid-90s, according to weather service forecasts:

Parts of south Alabama could even reach the upper 90s this afternoon, according to the weather service.

Monday could be a degree or two hotter in some areas. Here’s the forecast for Monday:

Look for the possibility of heat advisories for more of the state on Monday.

Tuesday could end up being the hottest of the week, according to forecasters, with some spots in south Alabama getting uncomfortably close to 100 degrees.

Here are the expected highs for Tuesday:

The rest of the week is expected to be hot, but not as hot, according to weather service forecasts.

Highs on Wednesday through Friday are expected to again reach the 90s, but the lower 90s, according to the weather service.

Beyond this week, forecasters think there will be increased probabilities for more above-average heat for Alabama.

Here is the Climate Prediction Center’s six- to 10-day temperature outlook:

The CPC’s outlook suggests there will be a 60 to 70 percent probability of above-average temperatures for most of Alabama from July 25-29.

South Alabama has lower probabilities, but only slightly, with a 50-60 percent probability for above-average temperatures.

The bunnies have left the pond at Auburn University.

“Self-Portrait as Bunnies (The Bathers),” a quirky and beloved art installation at Auburn’s Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art, has ended its run after a decade.

The bunnies are actually images of two bearded men in bunny costumes facing each other and submerged in the waters of a retention pond in front of the museum. They are twin self-portraits of artist Alex Podesta.

But time has taken its toll on the art, and after years of decay, museum officials have removed the bunnies.

“Over the years of its display, the sculpture naturally devolved, since its materials, while robust, were not designed for permanent aquatic outdoor conditions,” officials wrote in a social media statement on Friday afternoon. “Also, despite our dedicated efforts in regular care, environmental factors such as natural algal bloom and wildlife ‘contributions’ further contributed to its decline, and thus our professional decision to remove the sculpture permanently.”

Podesta responded to the news with surprise.

“Whoa! This is an odd way for the artist to learn of the deaccessioning of a piece,” he wrote back on the museum’s Facebook page. “Thanks very much to the Auburn community for your outpouring of kindness and support for this work over the past decade or so.”

The museum worked quickly to quell any burgeoning controversy and reiterated their intentions to the artist.

“The artwork has not been deaccessioned. The decision was made with care and concern of the work.”

Museum leaders said the sculpture will remain part of the university’s art collection, but would not be returned to the pond.

“We apologize if the statement was interpreted in that way, and we will ensure clarity when we speak with inquiring visitors.”

The installation was initially designed to be a temporary installation until it developed a fan base that birthed a fundraising effort to keep the bunnies in Auburn, according to Garden and Gun Magazine.

Fans of the bunnies in 2016 joined to raise money to buy the artwork and make it a permanent part of Auburn’s collection. A 24-hour crowdsourcing event raised more than $8,000.

The museum in its announcement Friday noted the “wide range of emotions and discussions” that the sculpture has generated over the years.

“This vibrant dialogue is precisely what art is meant to inspire!”

The NASCAR Cup Series continues today, as racers compete in the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 this afternoon. The NASCAR race is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. CT on TNT Sports. Fans can watch this race for free online by using the free trial offered by DirecTV. Alternatively, Sling offers a first-month discount to new users.

William Byron currently sits atop the NASCAR Cup Series standings with 668 points, and he has secured 11 finishes inside the top 10 this season. Byron ended last week’s race in eighth place, so he will look to perform similarly this afternoon.

Chase Elliott will be another key racer to watch today, as he possesses 654 points this season. He is only 14 points behind Byron for first place in the NASCAR Cup Series, so he will try to take the lead today.

In his most recent race, Elliott was able to secure third place.

Kyle Larson is also competing for the top spot on the leaderboard, as he currently sits in third place with 624 points. He has three wins this season, which leads the competition.

Fans can watch the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 for free online by using the free trial offered by DirecTV. Alternatively, Sling offers a first-month discount to new users.

Three Alabama men face horrific accusations of raping, sodomizing and trafficking six young children, including one as young as 3, in an underground Bibb County bunker for more than a year, according to court records.

William Chase McElroy, 21, Dalton Terrell, 21, and Andres Velazquez-Trejo, 29, were indicted last week by a Bibb County grand jury.

Efforts to reach attorneys appointed to represent each of the men were not immediately successful.

The alleged incidents happened for more than a year, beginning sometime around New Year’s Day 2024 and continued through April 29, 2025, records state.

Bibb County Sheriff Jody Wade said in a press release issued Saturday night that the investigation began Feb. 4 of this year “following concerns regarding the sexual abuse of children in an underground bunker located in Brent.”

The sheriff nor court records provide any additional information into where the bunker was located.

“Such abhorrent behavior will not be tolerated in Bibb County and .. offenders will face prosecution to the fullest extent of the law,” Wade said in the press release.

Charging documents show the victims were between the ages of 3 and 10. One of the victims was a 6-year-old boy and another was a 3-year-old girl.

The accusations alleged the children endured vaginal intercourse, anal intercourse, and oral sex. Records state one of the suspects “sold” children “to various clientele for sexual pleasure.”

The grand jury on July 11 indicted McElroy on four counts of first-degree rape, six counts of first-degree human trafficking, six counts of first-degree sodomy and four counts of first-degree kidnapping.

He was initially arrested Feb. 11 on multiple counts of child sex abuse.

Charging documents from his initial arrest state he admitted to fondling the male victim and raping at least one of the young girls.

On April 25, Wade said, investigators identified Terrell as another suspect and he, too, admitted to sexual intercourse with a minor, according to court records.

The grand jury indicted Terrell with six counts of first-degree rape, 12 counts of first-degree sodomy and five counts of human trafficking.

Terrell, records state, paid at least two adults to use the children – who are now ages 8,6, 10 and 3 – for sexual purposes, including rape and sodomy.

After more investigation, Velazquez-Trejo was arrested on April 29. He is charged with six counts of human trafficking.

The criminal complaint states he sold nude images of the victims to multiple people and sold the children themselves.

The suspects, all from Brent, will be arraigned on the indictments in August.

Court records do not state how the three men may know each other but indicate they all lived in mobile homes approximately a mile from each other at the time of their arrests.

Multiple agencies worked with his office on the investigation including Homeland Security Investigations, the Alabama Fusion Center, the Bibb County Department of Human Resources, the Child Advocacy Center Forensic Interview in Centreville and the Fourth Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

The investigation is ongoing.